Sunday, June 21, 2009
I Completely Forgot...
...about this video from a few weeks ago. And it's too cute not to share. At the end, it's a little hard to see this, but Timothy gets freaked out because one of the fountain sprays gets him and he wasn't expecting it-- I love his reaction. Enjoy!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
A Nightmare
Yikes, this is getting scary. Please pray for the families who are traveling right now. I know of one family who especially needs our prayers right now as they are in quarantine because the guy in the seat behind them in the airplane has the flu. They have also started to feel symptoms and will likely all be spending some time in the hospital in Beijing.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Oh JOY!
It's official: WE HAVE LOA!!! Basically this means that China says we are a match and it is our official referral from the government. This is such big news! I truly wish you could have seen the chaos that ensued as soon as I opened that email... I screamed and ran to Steve who panicked and wondered what was wrong. Then Samuel and Timothy started running around with their fingers in their ears, screaming. Then I started skipping around the room and Steve kept cringing and ducking every time I came near him, for fear that I would tackle him. It was quite the sight to behold.
Even more importantly though, we have a new family member! We are thrilled to introduce to you LilyJoy ZhiPing. Keep the prayers coming, they're working!!
Now, for those of you wondering what's next, here is a basic rundown.
*Receive LOA from agency, sign it, send it back
*Send 1-800 application
*Agency sends one copy of LOA to U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou along with DS-230
*DS-230 and approved I-800 get married to make Article 5
*Article 5 travels to Beijing where it meets the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs)
*CCAA puts another copy of LOA and Article 5 together in a nice happy package and sends out TA (Travel Approval)
I may have one or two things off a bit, but as you can see, it is confusing and a bit of a miracle that any adoptions happen at all in China! At any rate, the current wait times for all this are averaging about 50 days from LOA to TA. Once we get TA, it depends on when the next group from our agency is traveling-- could be anywhere from 2-3 weeks till we travel! Which will put us right about the beginning of Sept., understanding that things could be faster or slower than this at any point.
Needless to say, we are thrilled.
Even more importantly though, we have a new family member! We are thrilled to introduce to you LilyJoy ZhiPing. Keep the prayers coming, they're working!!
Now, for those of you wondering what's next, here is a basic rundown.
*Receive LOA from agency, sign it, send it back
*Send 1-800 application
*Agency sends one copy of LOA to U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou along with DS-230
*DS-230 and approved I-800 get married to make Article 5
*Article 5 travels to Beijing where it meets the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs)
*CCAA puts another copy of LOA and Article 5 together in a nice happy package and sends out TA (Travel Approval)
I may have one or two things off a bit, but as you can see, it is confusing and a bit of a miracle that any adoptions happen at all in China! At any rate, the current wait times for all this are averaging about 50 days from LOA to TA. Once we get TA, it depends on when the next group from our agency is traveling-- could be anywhere from 2-3 weeks till we travel! Which will put us right about the beginning of Sept., understanding that things could be faster or slower than this at any point.
Needless to say, we are thrilled.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Highest Level
Okay, I'm really in need of some prayers today. I am really getting anxious about this new pandemic level of the H1N1 virus and how it is going to affect travel to China. Please pray for my anxieties, please pray for some miracles regarding this virus and pray for our little Ping Ping. I would be ever so grateful...
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Day 60 and still waiting...
We entered into what my mind and my heart has deemed "the Realm of Possibility." I feel like looking over the averages on when LOA's arrive, it seems that 60 days is a good starting date-- all the way up to 120. So, are we half way through our wait? Are we days away from this magic approval? Could we still travel this summer or will it be Halloween? We shall see... I'm starting to get antsy.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Garage Sale Season
So, apparently, I no longer have qualms about what size to start collecting for little Ping Ping...
Some of the shoes I bought need a little sprucing up, but after I do, they'll be good as new!
It is officially garage sale season and MAN am I excited about that! Actually, most of the clothes we have gotten so far have been from a few friends that I am ever so thankful for and the rest have been garage sale and consignment finds. I FORCED myself to purchase a BRAND NEW summer dress the other day, which is, of course, adorable. And given our timeline, will probably only be worn once while in China, but, I have a hard time paying full price (well, not really, it was 50% off ;)) for something that I'm not even sure will fit her in the right season. And I have to admit, I would say probably half of the clothes that we have collected so far are probably not going to be worn due to being off season... *sigh* I guess that just means I'll get to do some more shopping!!
There were five different neighborhoods in our area that did their annual community garage sales this weekend and I do have to tell about some of my finds. I purchased probably a total of about 35 different clothing items for about $25. I scored! I found one winter coat, one spring coat and two dressy coats-- all four of which are PINK, so I really hope she doesn't get sick of that color!-- for $1 a piece! I couldn't believe it. Here are three of them for your viewing pleasure...
One thing I really couldn't believe, though-- brace yourself-- out of all these clothes that I have obtained for Ping, I think I have only about 5 dresses. Sad, I know. I'll work on that one.
Some of the shoes I bought need a little sprucing up, but after I do, they'll be good as new!
It is officially garage sale season and MAN am I excited about that! Actually, most of the clothes we have gotten so far have been from a few friends that I am ever so thankful for and the rest have been garage sale and consignment finds. I FORCED myself to purchase a BRAND NEW summer dress the other day, which is, of course, adorable. And given our timeline, will probably only be worn once while in China, but, I have a hard time paying full price (well, not really, it was 50% off ;)) for something that I'm not even sure will fit her in the right season. And I have to admit, I would say probably half of the clothes that we have collected so far are probably not going to be worn due to being off season... *sigh* I guess that just means I'll get to do some more shopping!!
There were five different neighborhoods in our area that did their annual community garage sales this weekend and I do have to tell about some of my finds. I purchased probably a total of about 35 different clothing items for about $25. I scored! I found one winter coat, one spring coat and two dressy coats-- all four of which are PINK, so I really hope she doesn't get sick of that color!-- for $1 a piece! I couldn't believe it. Here are three of them for your viewing pleasure...
One thing I really couldn't believe, though-- brace yourself-- out of all these clothes that I have obtained for Ping, I think I have only about 5 dresses. Sad, I know. I'll work on that one.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Summer was here!!
Well, I've been a wee bit MIA lately (in my mind, anyway!), but I think that's a good thing. We're coming up on, oh, about day 53 of our wait for LOA and it has been SUCH a blessing for the weather to be GORGEOUS here in the PNW! We've been so busy, I haven't thought a ton about what day of waiting we are on and I really think the Lord is helping me with that-- perhaps preparing me for a longer wait?? I shudder to think so. But in the meantime, we still pray and hope that our LOA comes soon. I think it also has to do with a bit of denial that it could happen soon. And here I sit, avoiding filling out the rest of our I-800 forms. Sometimes, I almost think that if I fill them out, I'll be jinxing it somehow, completely irrational thinking, I know.
Instead of obsessing about our wait, here is a bit of what we have been up to on these 75-90 degree days (yup, you heard me right, we hit 90 today!! Oh, and I say "was" because I'm pretty sure that next week, we're back to our regularly scheduled weather... man, we've been spoiled):
The slip N slide was very fun after they figured out how it worked-- there is most definitely a learning curve there :)
Timothy riding our dog, Moses. This is not entirely a safe thing to do as Moses is enormous and could/would gallop off at any moment!
After living in our house 1 1/2 years now and having the disassembled kit in our yard facing the elements, we FINALLY finished the swingset that came from our old backyard!! All we have left to do is put some cedar chips down-- but I don't expect that will happen for another few years yet. Thanks Dad and Steve!
These last two are from today! We drove up to Seattle and met my brother for a little picnic at the Seattle Center's huge fountain. It was so much fun and just perfect until about noon when all the kid groups in the area invaded. The boys were not having much of the fountain (too big, a little intimidating,I think), but Pete and I had fun!
Instead of obsessing about our wait, here is a bit of what we have been up to on these 75-90 degree days (yup, you heard me right, we hit 90 today!! Oh, and I say "was" because I'm pretty sure that next week, we're back to our regularly scheduled weather... man, we've been spoiled):
The slip N slide was very fun after they figured out how it worked-- there is most definitely a learning curve there :)
Timothy riding our dog, Moses. This is not entirely a safe thing to do as Moses is enormous and could/would gallop off at any moment!
After living in our house 1 1/2 years now and having the disassembled kit in our yard facing the elements, we FINALLY finished the swingset that came from our old backyard!! All we have left to do is put some cedar chips down-- but I don't expect that will happen for another few years yet. Thanks Dad and Steve!
These last two are from today! We drove up to Seattle and met my brother for a little picnic at the Seattle Center's huge fountain. It was so much fun and just perfect until about noon when all the kid groups in the area invaded. The boys were not having much of the fountain (too big, a little intimidating,I think), but Pete and I had fun!
Monday, June 1, 2009
UPDATES!!!
A great day today!! We decided that it really isn't going to make that much difference if we request our one and only update on Ping Ping now or if we wait closer to travel. Our original thinking was that if we have her measurements right before travel, we'll be able to find clothes that fit better. Well, first of all WHO CARES?! I've decided it's all about dresses. She's a tiny little thing and even if we don't get the right size, little girl dresses are supposed to be roomy. And, well, frankly, I just want an update! Her referral pics were from when she was 9 months old and she will be 16 months old in only 9 short days. She looks so much older! And she is at least standing unassisted (she is in another shot we got of her), so that's great! She has only gained 1 lb 1 oz in 2 months which is not great, but at least she is growing. And my favorite part? I cannot WAIT to put pigtails in that gorgeous black hair of hers!! Little bows...little barrettes...Enjoy!
A better letter for the immunization issue
Previously, I posted a nice long message about the oversight in the Hague convention and its policy on immunizations. Well, the message is getting out (YAY!) and someone posted a GREAT letter on another group that I belong to (thanks, HFM!) that you can send to your representatives. I wanted to post it here to make it as easy as possible to contact your reps. THIS IS FOR EVERYONE!! We can use your help, even if you are not a Hague family, even if you are not adopting... please write those letters and get the word out!
Senate:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
House of Representives:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Dear (________________________ ____),
My name is _______________. I am a soon-to-be adoptive Mother of a ______________ born in the People's Republic of China. I am writing this letter to ask your office to both quickly and diligently work toward correcting a Congressional oversight in the Hague Convention that effects internationally adopted children. This oversight requires immigrant children adopted from Hague Convention Countries be up to date on all Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommended vaccines prior to entering the United States.
When the Hague Convention was passed, new regulations were issued in the Federal Register on October 30, 2007 at 72 FR 61301. The amendments revised the Department of State regulations to provide for intercountry adoptions that will occur pursuant to the Hague Convention. This provided a new definition of "child" under the Immigration and Nationality Act, amending 101(b)(1)(F) and adding 101(b)(1)(G). Public Law 105-73 provided the exception for newly adopted children from the vaccination requirement by allowing for a written affidavit from the child's soon-to-be physician in lieu of receiving vaccinations abroad. While revising the law for the Hague's implementation, in an apparent oversight, Congress forgot to extend this part of the process. As stated above, this oversight requires these newly adopted children become up to date with all of the CDC's recommended vaccines before they will be granted entry into the US.
It is important to note most of these children come from orphanages in developing countries. Various countries may have given the orphans anywhere from several to no vaccines. Often they have received vaccines relevant to diseases in their country and not required by the CDC. Some may have no medical record or an outdated record of the vaccines they received at the orphanage. Without Public Law 105-73 in place, the newly adopted children would be required to receive the vaccinations again.
As you can imagine, adoption is a very complicated process both emotionally and physically. Taking this into considering, these vulnerable children may be required to receive a mega dose of vaccines all in one day, just days before they board the lengthy international flight home to the U.S. To date, there are reports of children receiving 6-7 injections at their medical exam in Guangzhou China in order to comply with this requirement. In my opinion, this is both cruel and unethical.
(____As is the case with our future daughter_____), these children may be medically fragile at the time these vaccinations are required. As the law stands, there is no available exemption for anyone, including the medically fragile. If the family wants to return to the United States with their child, the injections are mandatory without exception.
It is important to note, as the law stands today, these vulnerable children are now the only class of U.S. immigrants that are given no possible exemption from their overseas visa immunization requirements. All other U.S. immigrants are allowed the possibility of exemption due to medical necessity or religious or moral grounds. Can it really be this is a result of the Hague Convention which was intended to actually provide MORE protections for these children?
The best way to handle vaccinations, and the way it was done pre-Hague, was once at home the child's Pediatrician orders a blood test to discover the child's titer antibody levels. With test results in hand, the Pediatrician recommends only those vaccines that are shown to be missing, on a safe time schedule.
We ask that your office quickly seek to extend the previous exemption that allowed adopted children to postpone their immigrant visa vaccination requirements until they are safely at home. Such an exemption would be similar to 101(b)(1)(G) Public Law 105-73 which provided the exception for newly adopted children to the vaccination requirement by allowing for a written affidavit in lieu of receiving vaccinations abroad before receiving an immigrant visa.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter. I look forward to your prompt and timely response. The well being of some of America's newest and most vulnerable citizens depends on it.
Regards,
(__________name__________ _________)
citizen of the great state of (__________) and adoptive parent
Senate:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
House of Representives:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Dear (________________________ ____),
My name is _______________. I am a soon-to-be adoptive Mother of a ______________ born in the People's Republic of China. I am writing this letter to ask your office to both quickly and diligently work toward correcting a Congressional oversight in the Hague Convention that effects internationally adopted children. This oversight requires immigrant children adopted from Hague Convention Countries be up to date on all Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommended vaccines prior to entering the United States.
When the Hague Convention was passed, new regulations were issued in the Federal Register on October 30, 2007 at 72 FR 61301. The amendments revised the Department of State regulations to provide for intercountry adoptions that will occur pursuant to the Hague Convention. This provided a new definition of "child" under the Immigration and Nationality Act, amending 101(b)(1)(F) and adding 101(b)(1)(G). Public Law 105-73 provided the exception for newly adopted children from the vaccination requirement by allowing for a written affidavit from the child's soon-to-be physician in lieu of receiving vaccinations abroad. While revising the law for the Hague's implementation, in an apparent oversight, Congress forgot to extend this part of the process. As stated above, this oversight requires these newly adopted children become up to date with all of the CDC's recommended vaccines before they will be granted entry into the US.
It is important to note most of these children come from orphanages in developing countries. Various countries may have given the orphans anywhere from several to no vaccines. Often they have received vaccines relevant to diseases in their country and not required by the CDC. Some may have no medical record or an outdated record of the vaccines they received at the orphanage. Without Public Law 105-73 in place, the newly adopted children would be required to receive the vaccinations again.
As you can imagine, adoption is a very complicated process both emotionally and physically. Taking this into considering, these vulnerable children may be required to receive a mega dose of vaccines all in one day, just days before they board the lengthy international flight home to the U.S. To date, there are reports of children receiving 6-7 injections at their medical exam in Guangzhou China in order to comply with this requirement. In my opinion, this is both cruel and unethical.
(____As is the case with our future daughter_____), these children may be medically fragile at the time these vaccinations are required. As the law stands, there is no available exemption for anyone, including the medically fragile. If the family wants to return to the United States with their child, the injections are mandatory without exception.
It is important to note, as the law stands today, these vulnerable children are now the only class of U.S. immigrants that are given no possible exemption from their overseas visa immunization requirements. All other U.S. immigrants are allowed the possibility of exemption due to medical necessity or religious or moral grounds. Can it really be this is a result of the Hague Convention which was intended to actually provide MORE protections for these children?
The best way to handle vaccinations, and the way it was done pre-Hague, was once at home the child's Pediatrician orders a blood test to discover the child's titer antibody levels. With test results in hand, the Pediatrician recommends only those vaccines that are shown to be missing, on a safe time schedule.
We ask that your office quickly seek to extend the previous exemption that allowed adopted children to postpone their immigrant visa vaccination requirements until they are safely at home. Such an exemption would be similar to 101(b)(1)(G) Public Law 105-73 which provided the exception for newly adopted children to the vaccination requirement by allowing for a written affidavit in lieu of receiving vaccinations abroad before receiving an immigrant visa.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter. I look forward to your prompt and timely response. The well being of some of America's newest and most vulnerable citizens depends on it.
Regards,
(__________name__________ _________)
citizen of the great state of (__________) and adoptive parent
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